Hawaiian Crossroads: Little Vigilante
by Kemurikat
Summary: How will Steve McGarrett and his Five-0 team deal with the arrival of an 11-year-old vigilante? Guest starring Mindy Macready from the movie Kick-Ass. Warning: bad language & mature subject matter. The Steve and Danny bantering continues. -WIP-
1. The Little Intruder

Disclaimer:

Hawaii Five-0 and Kick-Ass' characters belong to their respective franchises and copyright owners. I'm just borrowing them for purely personal and literary entertainment purposes.

***The events, characters, organizations and any other names depicted in this story are fictitious. Any similarities to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual organizations is purely coincidental***

* * *

**Hawaiian Crossroads: Little Vigilante**

- A Hawaii Five-0 (2010) fan-fiction story by Kemurikat -

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**Chapter 01 - The Little Intruder**

The thick layers of wet sand that coated her runners felt heavier and heavier with every step. The sting of salt water in the air hurt her eyes and nostrils. She stayed in the shadows, skirting the sandy shoreline bordering various properties below a ridge of tall grass that effectively concealed her from anyone lurking in the backyards of their expensive, beach-front homes.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid_, she scolded herself repeatedly as she stumbled in near pitch darkness. Normally, traveling under the 'cover of night' was quite comforting especially when she wanted to stay invisible. Tonight, badly injured and sneaking through totally unfamiliar territory was a truly frightening thing. She was all alone with nobody to watch her back.

_I can do this_, she told herself determinedly, clutching at her tightly bandaged abdomen. She had done the best she could to patch herself with her first-aid training, but her wound was deep and she knew she needed stitches. Shit, she needed a _hospital_, but if she gave herself up to seek professional help, they'd ask too many questions and she wasn't ready to be found!

_I'm gonna bleed out soon if I don't - aha!_

Salvation presented her with unoccupied property. The house had no discernibly lit windows and no visible signs of an active security system. She decided the place was a start and worth checking out. Besides, she was desperate. Struggling through sand and brush was draining much of her energy.

She scaled the ridge with some difficulty and by the time she reached her chosen house's back yard, she began to feel lightheaded.

_Shit, shit, no, no, not yet, _she begged her body. All she had to do was break in, find a needle and thread to stitch herself up with, and heaven willing, some useful disinfectant or antibiotics to take with her.

When she pulled at the handle of the house's white back door, she was surprised to find that it was left unlocked. Grateful for the stroke of luck, she entered the house and using a slim flashlight for illumination, went straight to the master bedroom and its adjoining en suite.

Spotting the medicine cabinet, she yanked it open, finding the shelves moderately stocked. Luck struck twice when she recognized a modular military-grade medical kit on the bottom shelf. She opened it and smiled since the med-kit was packed tightly with everything she would ever need.

She hissed in pain as she slid her small knapsack off her shoulders where she shoved in the med-kit, certain prescription medications and a few toiletries. Once she was satisfied, she expertly scoured the master bedroom's closet and drawers for any usable articles of clothing. She hated having to resort to petty thievery, but her own clothes were in too much of a mess for her to simply show up at a local convenience store.

After her fingers searched under neatly folded stacks of men's underwear and found nothing, she pulled out the drawer slightly, reached in and felt behind it.

_Why, hello, there_, she said in delight, having found a fully loaded SIG-Sauer P226 SRT Tac Ops pistol in a compartment attached to the back of the underwear drawer. It was a stellar, military-grade weapon with an extended magazine and complete with an accessory rail. At the opposite corner, her fingers discovered two clips of 9 mm and .40S&W rounds. Either the occupant of the home she B&E'd had impeccable taste in handguns, or she may have stumbled onto someone with a possible sordid history. With no time to spare on speculations, she concentrated instead on her 'raid' of the home, namely onward to the kitchen for some food and water.

The fridge was unfortunately sparse, except for three unopened bottles of water. Sighing, she searched the kitchen cabinets for any portable canned goods or ready-to-eat packages she could carry. She found a few packets of military rations, picked the best ones and took them.

As she continued her methodical search in the kitchen, she greedily drank from one of the smaller water bottles, tossing the empty container over her shoulder into the sink. She didn't care about leaving fingerprints because any meticulous search would come up empty, thanks to her late father, who made absolutely sure that her true identity was protected.

The room was starting to spin and a glance at her abdomen under her hooded top revealed that more blood had soaked to the surface of her makeshift bandages. One final set of drawers in the kitchen and she was out of there. She also entertained the idea of temporarily hiding herself in the house's basement to make full use of the medical kit she took.

Hastily opening the final drawer in the kitchen which was filled with a mishmash of various items, she dug around curiously and couldn't believe what she found.

_Oh, wow,_ she said to herself, her brows lifting slightly up her forehead. Hidden at the bottom, under a messy pile of kitchen utensils was the handsomest-looking tactical combat knife she'd ever seen, complete with customized grip. No doubt stashed there by its owner, 'just in case'...but, 'just in case' of what? Shrugging, she was about to stuff the knife and its sheath into her knapsack when a deep, masculine voice spoke directly behind her, shocking her rigid as a statue.

"I'd like you to put that back where you found it, if you don't mind."

* * *

"Get the hell outta my face," Detective Danny Williams shouted crossly, who stormed past his colleagues and made a beeline for his office. (Or rather, as stormy as someone could get with a limp and a cane.) At the moment, he fervently wished for the luxury of slamming his office door in protest, except that all the doors in their department were made entirely of _glass_ and equipped with hydraulic hinges that made slamming impossible. So instead, he made do with smashing his cane down onto his desk with a resounding crack, slumping into his leather chair and swinging it away dramatically from eye contact with anyone in the department.

Rolling his eyes, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett made distinct strangling motions with his hands in the direction of Detective Williams' office.

"Uh, boss, we all know Danny doesn't take too well to near-death experiences," a female colleague with Asian features told him flatly. The man who stood beside her, with similar characteristics, chuckled softly.

McGarrett inhaled and exhaled deeply before answering loudly, "he knows better than to think I'd _let_ him get killed out there."

Williams' response was to hammer his fist down sharply onto his desk, making Kono Kalakaua and her cousin, Chin Ho Kelly, flinch slightly.

"He's completely overreacting," McGarrett mumbled under his breath, crossing his arms obstinately.

Kono and Chin looked at McGarrett in disbelief, glancing briefly at each other before their eyes sympathetically bounced to Williams' office.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm calling it a day," Chin said tiredly, his hand coming up to cover a yawn.

"Same here," Kono agreed, rubbing at her sore neck muscles.

"Sure. You guys go on ahead and get outta here. I'll deal with Danny," McGarrett replied, turning toward his goal. That's when he felt a firm tug on his left arm before he even put his first foot forward.

"You should go home too. Give Danny some space to cool off," Kono suggested.

After a moment, McGarrett nodded. "Will do."

"Night, boss," Chin said with a casual smile and left the department with Kono beside him.

Despite the obvious disagreement, all four members of the Hawaiian Governor's Special Police Task Force were relieved to finally reach the conclusion of a difficult case involving the kidnapping of a visiting British delegate. Sadly, a few casualties were sustained by the Honolulu SWAT division during the rescue operation, leaving a sour tinge to their success. What made Detective Williams particularly furious was that in his valiant effort to be the reliable back-up for his reckless, gung-ho, Navy SEAL partner, he had faced yet another _close_ brush with the Grim Reaper. His fingers gingerly rubbed at a sore spot on the right side of his head where a bullet had grazed it. The realization that it had taken only _millimeters_ of heavenly luck to stay alive that day, had frankly, scared the living daylights out of him.

When images of his eight year old daughter, Grace, flashed before his eyes - a daughter he nearly left behind, he reminded himself - he sighed, dejectedly slouching in his chair. Since when had weighing the pros and cons of his occupation gotten progressively harder?

Given some thought, Danny already knew the truth beneath his own trepidation as he ran a hand through his hair and frowned.

Despite the highly elevated risks he faced on a daily basis, he never once regretted his decision to serve the public as an officer of the law. He had vowed to himself, that as long as he still received a deep sense of accomplishment from his line of work, he would remain unequivocally committed to it.

_However_, there was a certain 'rogue element' that kept tossing a fragmentation grenade into his personal procedures, reducing his finely honed detective work into a giant, steaming pile of _chaos!_

Danny Williams was referring to his boss, partner and the subsequent _bane_ of his existence: Steve McGarrett. A soft knock on the glass door of his office made him clench his teeth and ball his fists.

"Fuck off, Steve," he barked out.

McGarrett nearly punched the glass door of Danny's office in frustration. "Fine. If it makes you happy, I'm fucking sorry. Again. For _everything_ that happened today. Okay?" He was amazed how much babying Danny required sometimes.

No response.

"I'm leaving then. See you, Monday," McGarrett said cordially, shaking his head as he walked away.

After a few minutes of silence, Danny muttered, "see you, Monday," with a heavy sigh.

* * *

He was a few yards from his driveway when McGarrett caught a flash of light from inside the master bedroom of his home, indicating the presence of an intruder or intruders of unknown intent. If he or they were after his father's evidence, the tool box wasn't exactly in a secured location. Thankfully, his sister Mary Ann was staying with some girlfriends for a few days on the other side of the island.

He immediately turned off his headlights and motor, coasting his vehicle to a stop on the side of the road. He then quickly and quietly ran along his front yard, entered his home; his weapon drawn and ready for action.

A brief interior sweep revealed only one intruder present on the main floor. Looking carefully around a corner, he spotted his intruder systematically searching his entire kitchen for...his brows crunched together in confusion. The intruder had his back turned and was stuffing canned goods and a few military rations from his cabinets into a knapsack. The intruder also decided to drink one of the stolen bottles of water, tossing the empty container carelessly into the sink. Squinting in the dim light, he took note of the intruder's _petite_ stature. Hmm.

Coming around to the other side of his kitchen to get a better look, he hid in the shadows and observed the intruder rummaging through his drawer of kitchen utensils. An oversized black hood covered the top half of the intruder's face, where eye-holes were then cut for visibility.

McGarrett's personal assessment of the intruder's actions suggested that he was dealing with a young runaway. Not exactly a threat that required lethal force. Setting the safety on his firearm, he tucked the weapon back into a small holster strapped to his belt beside his badge.

He watched in surprise as the petite intruder removed the combat knife he'd hidden inside his utensil drawer. The young runaway then held it up for examination and he caught the flash of a smile - was that _delight_? - on the intruder's face. His eyes were immediately drawn to the intruder's lips because its shape was disturbingly _feminine_.

"I'd like you to put that back where you found it, if you don't mind," McGarrett said calmly.

In the split second between action and reaction, Steve cursed himself for startling a civilian holding a deadly weapon, namely, his combat knife. He kept that particular double-edged blade extremely sharp and it would definitely badly injure the runaway if it was dropped. At least, that's how it _should_ have played out.

What happened instead, threw McGarrett _entirely_ for a loop.

The next thing he knew, his own combat knife was flying through the air, business end directly aimed for his chest! He was barely able to knock it away, changing its trajectory from being buried to the hilt into his heart, to the knife leaving a cut on his shoulder. He also nicked the top of his left hand in the process.

"Hey! Stop!" McGarrett shouted, his body's adrenaline kicking into overdrive.

The little monster that raided his kitchen was on the move, nimble as a frightened mouse. Knapsack in hand, the intruder ran straight for his front door, and scared runaway or not, he wasn't going to let his little intruder get away with attempted murder.

He chased the young runaway across his yard and watched as she abandoned her knapsack to run faster, but his longer legs gave him an advantage. When he caught up to the young runaway, he tackled her, grabbing tightly to her midsection. She cried out in pain when his arm clamped around her waist and she went limp even before they hit the ground.

When he rolled the young intruder onto her back, his saw the blood that smudged his inner right forearm. He quickly lifted the front of her warm, damp hoody and found - to his horror - the blood-soaked bandages around her abdomen. He then drew back the hood that covered the top half of her face and saw - to his shock - that she was much _younger_ than he'd imagined! The girl's face was also quite pale.

_She's bleeding to death!_

McGarrett quickly retrieved the girl's discarded knapsack then carefully hoisted the young runaway into his arms and darted toward his dark-blue Silverado pickup.

She twitched and moaned.

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't have tackled you down like that if I knew you were badly hurt," McGarrett said apologetically. "Just hang on. I'm gonna get you to a hospital."

"_No_," the girl spoke sharply as she lifted her dangling arm and dug her fingers into the back of his wounded hand.

"Ow! Will you _stop_ that?" McGarrett said, reflexively tightening his grip on her body with his injured hand. "I'm trying to help you!"

"_Please_. No hospitals," the girl begged him. "Please."

He slowed down to a brisk walk, turning his head to stare down at the young girl he cradled in his arms and saw the teary, wide-eyed sincerity that stared right back.

"It's...a clean cut. Just...just need stitches," the girl said, her eyes moving in and out of focus.

"From the amount of blood loss, I think you need more than stitches," he stated. "I'm not a doctor."

"If...you take me to a hospital...I'll die anyway," she said softly and drifted into unconsciousness.

_So, this girl's in some kind of trouble and whoever's after her, wants her dead. Great! Now what? Dammit!_

When McGarrett reached his pickup truck, he placed the girl in the passenger seat, reclining it back as far as it would go and dropping her knapsack on the floor by her feet. He then hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine. Spinning the truck around, he headed for a main road.

Cellphone in hand, his fingers tapped a number on his speed dial.

"Chin! I know it's late, but it's an emergency and I need a favor."

A slight pause and a curt reply. "What do you need?"

"I need a doctor. Now. Someone you can trust to keep things quiet."

"I know someone who works at Queens. Gimme a minute to contact her and I'll get back to you," Chin replied and hung up.

At Chin's reply, McGarrett drove in the direction of The Queens Medical Center in downtown Honolulu.

_Come on, Chin. This kid's running out of time_, Steve said to himself and glanced over worriedly to the unconscious girl beside him_._

After a few more tense minutes, his phone rang. "Chin, where to?"

"I'll meet you at the Queens ER entrance. We'll be expected."

Soon enough, a dark-blue pickup truck flew into the Queens Medical Emergency parking lot and into an empty spot that wouldn't obstruct the flow of any EMS vehicles. Bundling the girl up as best he could with a spare jacket from his truck, McGarrett ran toward Chin and a woman in OR scrubs waiting at the entrance.

"This way," the woman said quietly and quickly led them down the hall to a small trauma unit away from general traffic. It was after-hours at the hospital and somewhat easier to go unnoticed. "Lay her on the gurney and get out."

Chin led McGarrett to the adjoining waiting room as they allowed the female doctor and her assistant to examine the young girl's wounds.

"Steve, what's going on? Who's the little girl?" Chin asked with concern, his eyes glancing at his boss-friend's bloodstained skin and clothing.

"Hell if I know. I found the kid robbing my kitchen when I got home," McGarrett replied, pacing the length of the waiting room. "First impression? I think she's in some kind of trouble and running from someone who's trying to kill her. She practically begged me _not_ to take her to a hospital." He scratched the back of his head in frustration. "She won't be too happy with me when she wakes up in here."

"No worries. Dr. Ogihara's discreet. Soon as the girl's out of danger, she'll have her moved to a private suite," Chin explained.

"Won't your friend send up red flags in the hospital system?"'

"Normally, yes, but Makiye has powerful connections through her many high-profile patients. That girl, whoever she is, is in good hands," Chin reassured him. "Looks like she put up one heck of a fight?"

He nodded his head in the direction of the bleeding cuts on McGarrett's left hand and shoulder.

"Yeah," he replied offhandedly, appearing deep in thought. "How old does that girl look to you?"

"My best guess...about eleven?"

"Same here," McGarrett agreed, his brows crunched together.

"What aren't you telling me?" Chin asked perceptively.

"Something about her bothers me."

Steve recalled his encounter with the girl, giving Chin the 'Cliff notes' version. "...but the weirdest thing was...instead of dropping my knife, she _throws_ it a me."

"Fear makes people unpredictable. She just overreacted," Chin commented.

"No, no. That's just it. What she did _wasn't_ some wild throw out of fear. That eleven-year-old girl in there knew _exactly_ what she was doing."

"I don't follow."

"These wounds I have? I got them by _barely_ knocking away my own combat knife. That girl almost killed me tonight," McGarrett informed him, his face deadly serious.

There was a tense silence as Chin tried to process what Steve had told him. That's when he noticed, for the first time since they began working together, his friend and colleague's agitated behavior was drastically different from his normally calm, ironclad composure.

"Let me make sure I heard you correctly. Are you trying to tell me a _little girl_ almost killed _you_?" Chin said in disbelief. "That's lolo, brah."

"Yeah, I know how I sound," McGarrett said uncomfortably.

"Do you? Because, frankly, what you just told me redefines the word crazy," Chin exclaimed, clearly outraged.

Before McGarrett could begin his rebuttal, Dr. Ogihara entered the waiting room. She saw the anxious faces of both men before she spoke.

"Thankfully, the girl you two brought in has no life-threatening injuries. She did lose a large amount blood from a clean cut across her abdomen and I've given her a transfusion to replenish some of it. Luckily, her blood-type is in rich supply, so I've got no issue covering that up. She also has a mild concussion, along with multiple bruises and abrasions all over her body. My first instinct would be some kind of domestic abuse," was the doctor's estimate.

"I'm the one who found her and I believe she's in some kind of trouble. She also begged me not to take her to a hospital," McGarrett replied.

"In that case, once my assistant's done stitching her up, you'd better take her away from here. Don't worry, she's safe to move around. I'll include instructions on how to care for her and some medication she should take. So, which of you gentlemen is taking responsibility for her?"

Without hesitation, McGarrett declared, "I am."

"You look ready to drop, brah," Chin said. Steve's skin was flushed and sweaty and his hands were a bit shaky. "I can ask Kono to - "

"I'll be fine. The anesthesia in the girl's system should knock her out for a couple of hours," McGarrett said and looked to the doctor for confirmation. When she nodded, he added, "Good. Then I can squeeze in some sleep."

Chin smuggled the girl out of ER bundled in a wheelchair as McGarrett pulled up beside them in his dark-blue pickup. As he helped his friend buckle the unknown girl into the passenger seat, he was able to get a longer look at her face. Chin was right. She didn't look a day older than eleven.

"Mahalo, brah," McGarrett said sincerely. "I owe you one."

"No need," Chin said, shaking his head. He stared at the unconscious girl, then at McGarrett's haggard appearance. "You sure about this?"

"She'll be safe with me. Look, forget what I said earlier. You're right, it's crazy talk. Our team's been wide awake on coffee and Red Bull for almost forty-eight hours now. We both need a good night's sleep." Steve hopped into his pickup then called out, "I'll call you the minute she wakes up, k?"

Chin Ho Kelly's eyes followed Steve's dark-blue pickup as it left the hospital's Emergency parking lot, merging with local traffic and slowly disappearing down Punchbowl Avenue. Heading back to his black Harley Softail, Chin roared the engine to life and left the vicinity of Queens hospital, ultimately deciding to take a detour toward Kono's place.

Pulling into his driveway, McGarrett entered his front door with his young charge in his arms, tossed the girl's knapsack onto his dining table and deposited the girl in the master bedroom.

He laid the young girl on his king-sized bed, grabbed one of his clean, white shirts and carefully fitted it over the top half of her body. The girl's original clothes were so dirty and stained with blood that Dr. Ogihara had discarded them, leaving her wearing just a hospital gown. He'd have to figure out later how to get the young girl more clothes.

Tucking her under the covers, he went to take a quick shower, cleaned and bandaged his wounds, got dressed in a pair of loose cotton pajama bottoms and laid out a sleeping bag on the floor beside his king-sized bed. For now, McGarrett's burning curiosity concerning the mysterious young girl had to wait until after he's had a decent few hours sleep.

* * *

to be continued

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**Author's Notes:**

It's actually Punchbowl 'Street' rather than 'Avenue' coming out of Queens Medical Center in Honolulu. 'Avenue' just sounded better.

I'm not a diehard fan of cop shows, in fact, I haven't even sat through episodes of CSI! So, this story is purely a gutsy attempt on my part, so don't expect too much detail on the investigative stuff. I'm more interested in the interaction between Mindy and the characters of H50, particularly with McGarrett and Mindy Macready. Mindy just lost a father and now she's set her sights on McGarrett as her new father-figure! ROFL. Should prove challenging for both parties.

Just a crazy idea that popped into my head. LOL. I originally categorized this story as a crossover, but it's mostly set in the H50 universe, with Mindy Macready as the chaos factor. Also, I'm tossing all the costumed super-hero stuff out the window. ^_^ (Although, I'm sure some of us fan-girls wouldn't mind seeing McGarrett in tights just for a lark. ;3 LMFAO)

Reader input or reactions are greatly appreciated.

Also, don't forget to check out Steve and Danny in the middle of a Zombie Apocalypse! Check out the fanfic: 'These Things That Go Bump In The Night' by lil-anonymous-girl! ;D Brrraaaaiiiinnnsssss.


	2. Sugar and Spikes

**Hawaiian Crossroads: Chapter 02 - Sugar and Spikes**

The low, insistent buzzing noise of a vibrating cellphone near his ear jolted him awake. Blearily, he rolled over and reached for the insufferable gadget on top of a small pile of clean laundry by his head, sincerely hoping it wasn't Governor Jameson asking for another favor so soon.

"Nnngllo?" McGarrett slurred, his voice slightly muffled.

"What's the story, morning glory?" Danny's inordinately cheerful voice blasted past his phone's earpiece.

Grunting, Steve rolled back onto his bedroll and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Seriously? Mr. Navy SEAL has _no_ idea what time it is? Thought you guys could read the position of the sun or something."

"I could, if I was wide _awake_," he drawled. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"What kept you up last night? Blonde, brunette or both," Danny teased.

Steve yawned then smiled. "It wasn't _that_ variety of late night."

There was a slight pause. "Are you saying you've _actually_ - you're shittin' me."

"Why not? I've got the stamina for it," McGarrett replied as he grinned and stretched.

There was another pause on the phone.

"Listen, Danny, I'm not into sexual conquests, but I do recall a few years ago when I made a set of German triplets _very_ happy." He chuckled when Danny sounded like he was choking on the other end of the line. "I'll tell you about it sometime, but for now, what's with the wake-up call?"

"That's what I was gonna ask _you_. Kono called me to check up on you."

"Did she, now?" McGarrett said as he sat up and shook off the last of the cobwebs in his head. He glanced at his bed and was grateful that the young girl in his care was still asleep. He had some time to prepare before she woke up. "Anything else Kono tell you?"

"I'm getting the impression something's up. Care to share?"

"Gimme half an hour then make your way over here. I'm guessing the others aren't too far behind."

"Okay, see you then," Danny replied and hung up.

McGarrett stood up, spying the time on his bedside table.

_Shit. It's that late? Better get a move on._

It took all of fifteen minutes to get showered and changed. For a Friday afternoon, Steve settled for a white shirt and his usual cargo pants. He briefly checked on the girl laying in his bed, then went to his kitchen to scrounge up some food. He grabbed a bowl filled with milk and a carton of muesli.

Barefoot, he set down the bowl on his spotless dining table where he'd placed the girl's knapsack the night before. A turn of his head to the right and he located his combat knife on the rug by the couch in the living room. Steve picked it up and saw the dried traces of his blood on the double-edged blade.

There was a flash of memory from last night as he recalled what the girl had done with his knife and Steve couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling of his own incomprehensible brush with death.

He sat down and placed his bloodstained combat knife on the table, shoveled back a few spoonfuls of muesli, his hands reaching for the girl's jet-black knapsack. His eyes widened slightly when he recognized the pack's unique design.

_Ya gotta be fucking kidding me,_ Steve said to himself in disbelief, as he unmistakably stared at a slightly altered military-grade Modular Assault Pack propped on the table in front of him. Despite the modified shoulder straps, the pack's unassuming exterior shell was standard military issue. This particular MAP was designed to be an attachment to a much larger backpack that a soldier carried out into the field. He hadn't immediately recognized it for what it was because he normally saw the pack in either khaki or Ranger camouflage.

He instantly dove into the jet-black MAP, removing the contents of every pocket and strap. When the pack was empty, a quick survey of the items scattered atop his dining table made his eyes go even wider.

* * *

She woke up to muffled noises on a soft, rumpled bed that was saturated by an unfamiliar yet distinctly _masculine_ scent.

_Eww_.

At least she wasn't in a hospital room, her sense of smell greatly relieved by the absence of the strong, sickly sweet smell of industrial-grade antiseptics.

She remained in bed, pretending to still be asleep and after a while, the unidentified noises she heard sounded like a heated conversation coming from a floor below her that seemed to involve...three adult males, one female.

_Ow, ow, ow. Shit! _

Flexing her stomach muscles to move wasn't exactly the best idea. Also, her entire body was one big bruise, her throat was rough as sandpaper, and worst of all, her entire abdominal area felt like it was on _fire_.

Gingerly, she opened her eyes, patiently allowing them to adjust and when she turned her head around carefully, she was shocked to discover that she was lying on the bed of the man she'd robbed last night!

_Oh, fuck me._

She shifted her arms under the covers, felt the shirt she wore that _wasn't_ hers and noted that her pants and socks were gone too. Thankfully, she still wore her underwear, which meant the guy that took her in wasn't a complete pervert.

_I gotta get outta here._

In her current condition, that was easier said than done, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try.

Gritting her teeth, she lifted herself to a sitting position with her arms, closing her eyes momentarily to stop the room from spinning. The voices downstairs were still having their conversation, which gave her some time to attempt getting out of bed.

Easing herself slowly to the foot of the bed, she let her legs dangle over the edge, her feet several inches above the floor, unsure whether she had enough strength to stand up. The last thing she needed was to make any sort of noise that would prompt the people downstairs to come running up to stop her.

The periphery of her vision caught a trail of fabric on the floor to her left. With some difficulty, she moved sideways to the left and saw that a sleeping bag was laid out, no doubt belonging to the man whose bed she'd slept in.

_Okay, enough sitting down. I have to find out what Mr. Supposed-Good-Samaritan's motives are for helping me out._

* * *

Williams was the first to arrive and it was no surprise that Chin and Kono were right behind him. Chin had obviously told Kono what had kept them up last night and Kono in turn tipped off Danny.

Smirking to himself, Steve realized that any sort of intrigue - be it good or bad - that happened to his team individually would be a difficult secret to keep from one another. It wasn't like they were nosey by nature, rather, it was directly attributed to the rare and strong sense of camaraderie the four of them shared since they'd bonded to become the special 5-O Task Force that the Hawaiian Governor formed to police the island.

_...and to find out who killed my father._

His partner's frustrated voice reverberated dimly in McGarrett's eardrums. After he'd finished the tale of his strange encounter with his little intruder last night, he then went on to argue about the girl's possibly unstable mind. He also couldn't understand, even with the evidence staring them all in the face, why the rest of his team insisted his theory was just plain crazy.

McGarrett effectively separated key items of interest - all of them _weapons_ - from the rest of the girl's stuff on the table. There was a stainless-steel butterfly knife, a 6-inch black-finish steel spike with a red tassel in a nylon carry sheath (set of three, two were missing) and a military tactical flashlight with a sharp, machined bezel. Lost in his own troubled thoughts, his brows felt crunched together permanently as his eyes drifted to two handguns and his combat knife just off to the side.

Danny suspected that Steve McGarrett's psychological state was secretly unravelling. Why the hell was his partner so determined to demonize an eleven year old girl?

"Yo! Planet Earth to Captain America. Have you heard _anything_ I said for the last minute and a half?" Danny yelled.

"Sorry...I was...you were saying?" Steve replied distractedly.

"Never mind, it wasn't important," Danny muttered, crossing his arms.

"Are you okay?" Kono asked. "You looked like you were in a very dark place just now."

Clearing his throat, McGarrett composed himself and replied, "I can't stop wondering why an eleven year old girl would need to keep a collection of deadly weapons." He illustrated his point by holding up a gun in each hand, a finger hooking through each trigger guard.

"Simple, she _doesn't! _ I betcha that kid stole that knapsack from someone else," Danny argued vehemently, trying to talk some sense into his partner. "You told us yourself that you found her robbing your kitchen. News flash: that's what _runaways_ do."

"Fine. She stole the knapsack from a military resident in the area and didn't bother to ditch these guns," McGarrett said skeptically.

"It's highly likely that those weapons belong to the person she's running _from_. That would make it a valid reason for the girl's motive to keep them. We should dust them for prints and find out who those guns are registered to. Might give us some answers," Chin said, taking note of the modified SIG Steve twirled in his right hand before placing both guns back on the table.

_Well, here's the kicker..._

"Don't bother dusting this one," McGarrett remarked, pointing to the SIG he'd put down. "Coz his gun's mine. It's registered as one of my primary active duty firearms in the Navy as a SEAL. I carefully hid this gun inside a special compartment behind a drawer upstairs in the master bedroom which, by the way, she went to a lot of trouble to dig out," and he slid two extended magazines beside the gun, "_along_ with the ammo."

The room was silent.

_Good. At least they're finally starting to listen._

"When the girl was in my kitchen, I caught her about to steal _this_," McGarrett added, pushing a very menacing-looking, bloodstained combat knife beside his SIG and its ammo clips. "I hid this knife at the very back of one of the drawers. I watched her take it out...look at it...and _smile_." He waited, gauging his companions' responses.

"Okay, that's just fucked-up creepy," Danny retorted scoldingly. Both Chin and Kono had similar negative reactions. "You have a sick, sick mind, Steve."

It was McGarrett's turn to bang his fist down on the table in frustration, effectively jolting his three companions to physically pulling away from him somewhat. There was a trace of fear in their eyes.

"Steve, calm down. You're not looking completely rational right now," Danny said cautiously, his hands raised in front of him, palms up.

_Dammit! At this rate they'll have me committed by the end of the day!_

He was so wound up, McGarrett decided to take the risk. He sat forward in his chair, leaned his elbows on the table, then looked pointedly at his partner with narrowed eyes.

"Remember the bullet that nearly ripped through your skull yesterday, Danny? Well, last night, I had a very _similar_ incident with my own combat knife almost stabbing through my chest!"

That did it. Danny's face went red with rage as he stood up and stalked toward him.

"Asshole! How in the fuck can you even _compare_ - " Danny snarled angrily.

"Snake venom," McGarrett interrupted, brandishing his combat knife in front of him. Chin and Kono jerked forward defensively toward Williams.

"Excuse me?" Danny snapped, stumbling back. He stared anxiously at both Steve and the knife. He was tempted to reach for his gun.

"This combat knife is thickly coated with a concentrated dose of the most lethal snake venom found on the planet. The venom paralyzes in seconds and kills a man the size of an offensive tackler dead in just a few minutes," McGarrett explained, his face ominous.

"Those cuts on your hand and shoulder last night - " Chin began then faded, looking at Steve's bandaged wounds, his face slightly pale.

They watched as McGarrett made movements inside his mouth, fishing out a tiny capsule he perched on the tip of his tongue. He then held up the tiny ampule for them to see between the thumb and index finger of his left hand. The capsule was a quarter-inch in height and about an eighth of an inch in diameter.

"This is concentrated anti-venom. I always carry some with me, just in case," McGarrett stated, placing the tiny capsule back inside his mouth. He then turned his head to address Chin. "I bit down on one the instant my flesh was cut with that knife. What you saw last night: the agitation, the shakiness, the fever; they were some of the minor aftereffects, but I'm fine now."

"You...I..." Danny floundered, at a total loss for what to say, the others included.

They watched warily as McGarrett casually flipped the ugly looking combat knife deftly in one hand.

"This knife was given to me by a British Special Forces SAS Operative I met a while back. The venom on the blade's a bonus: the son-of-a-bitch's own special formula. He also makes the concentrated anti-venom," McGarrett said, gazing at the knife with a warm, nostalgic look in his eyes. "That bastard made Rambo look like a Ken doll."

Danny, Kono and Chin exchanged mixed expressions. Since they'd met him, McGarrett had always remained vague about divulging any details regarding his military career. He may be the current head of their Special Police Task Force, but he was _still_ a military asset that had ties to the Navy SEALs as a Reserve. For the sake of an explanation, McGarrett hinted at some aspect of his military experience the trio couldn't wrap their heads around, because _none_ of them could remotely relate to what their boss might have gone through during his tours of duty as a soldier.

"The guy even moved to Australia to be closer to his venom supply," McGarrett continued, returning his blade to the table. He was also more amenable, now that he'd gotten his point across, back to the man they've come to know and trust.

Williams opened and closed his mouth but couldn't form the words. Then he whistled and blurted out, "_you_ can be one scary, scary individual," Danny remarked.

"I don't intend to be," McGarrett answered contritely, looking at each member of his team. "I'm sorry if I upset anyone."

"Y'know...that whole thing with the snake venom? Dude, that's like, totally hard-core," Kono said with a wide smile of admiration, effectively breaking the tension in the room.

"I'm glad you're on our side," Chin said. "I think I'd hate to see the consequences when someone _really_ pisses you off."

"Anyway, now do you guys see why all this," he gestured to the weapons on the table, "is bothering me?" McGarrett said, then pointed toward the ceiling. "Until that girl upstairs wakes up, we won't have any definitive answers, but based on some of the observations I've made, all I'm asking is for you guys to just keep an open mind."

McGarrett watched as his team exchanged glances.

"Okay, open minds, roger that," Danny nodded. He noted Steve's bare feet with his eyes. "So, what's the plan, Tarzan?"

"We get the rest of this stuff dusted and see what comes up," McGarrett said, agreeing with Chin and ignoring Williams' jibe. "We'll start with this." He held up an empty water bottle by its cap. "Let's see if her prints show up on any databases."

"Uh, guys," Kono spoke, staring warily toward the kitchen.

The three men followed Kono's line of sight and were startled to see that the little girl in question was leaning against the kitchen counter! How long had she been standing there?

The girl was barefoot, wearing one of Steve's white shirts over her hospital gown. Her face was slightly pale and sweaty, her strawberry-blonde hair was in wild disarray, but more significantly, their attention was held by the little girl's _eyes_ which were filled with an eerie menace.

Suddenly, the four of them felt like they were trapped in a scene from the Exorcist.

"Hi, there," Kono said cautiously. "Were we too noisy and woke you up?"

No reply, but the little girl's menacing stare never wavered.

"Hey, we're really sorry if we woke you up," Danny spoke up gently. "Did you want something? Maybe a drink of water?"

Still no reply. The four of them were starting to fidget nervously.

"You should sit down. You look like you have a fever," McGarrett attempted as gently as he could, but his voice was still commanding. His other colleagues swiveled their heads at him and stared in mild reprimand.

When the little girl moved forward, three of them flinched. The girl then focused her full attention on McGarrett, who calmly sat down and stared intently at her as she approached. He gave her some space as she pulled back the chair beside him and carefully sat down with a wince of pain.

"You shouldn't be out of bed, much less moving around like this. You'll rip out your stitches," McGarrett stated. Danny made a face that told him, 'you could've been a pinch more _subtle_.'

The girl shrugged. It wasn't much, but at least, it was a _response_. McGarrett glanced at the rest of his team as an unspoken consensus of approval passed between them. For some unfathomable reason, the girl had chosen to warm up to _him_ so the rest of his team hung back reluctantly, giving him full reign to direct how interaction with the girl would play out.

"Can you tell us your name?" McGarrett asked. Her eyes fell instead on one of the handguns on the table. "It's okay, we'll take this as slow as you want. I'll start with our names." By this time, Danny, Kono and Chin had sat themselves down comfortably. "The pretty woman you see over there is Kono Kalakaua. (she smiles and waves) Beside her is her cousin, Chin Ho Kelly. (he nods and smiles) I'm Steve McGarrett. Short, blonde and rugged over there is my partner, Danny Williams." He tried not to smile as Danny made a face.

The little girl looked at McGarrett, then slowly at Williams and a strangely skeptical expression formed on her face. When she repeated her actions, Danny spoke up quickly.

"Oh, Steve and I, we _work_ together," Danny stated, flustered, with a strong emphasis on the word 'work.' Kono and Chin tried desperately not to laugh. "We're not partners in _that_ sense. It's strictly _work_ between the two of us. Yeah. Moving on."

When the girl's eyes radiated curiosity, Steve elaborated. "Danny and I are detectives and the fact is, we're all police officers." He validated his statement by placing his badge on the table. The others followed suite.

The girl looked at each of their badges then picked up Steve's with her fingers. She traced the patterns on the badge's design, her arms stretched out on the table. They watched her in silence. When she was done, she deliberately placed Steve's badge on top of the handgun he owned. The four of them exchanged brief glances.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask you some questions. If you don't wanna answer them, that's fine, but I can't help you unless you tell me what happened," McGarrett said. "Hey, I'll be happy with a nod or a shake of your head, okay?"

The girl shrugged. It was a noncommittal gesture, but McGarrett could work with that. "This knapsack and these weapons...do they belong to you?"

Danny rolled his eyes and made another face that said, '_again_ with the not-so-subtle!'

She hadn't answered Steve's question, but they observed quietly as the girl went to reach for the folded butterfly knife on the table and held it in her hands.

"Oh, honey, please be careful, that's not a toy," Danny spoke up out of reflex. Having a daughter of his own, it deeply distressed him to see the little girl holding the knife. "Can you, please, do me a favor and put that down?"

The little girl hesitated and refused to make eye contact with any of them as she stared intently at the butterfly knife she held in her hands.

Suddenly, all four members of the Five-O Task Force were left wide-eyed and slack-jawed as the little girl _expertly_ twirled the butterfly knife with her incredibly dexterous fingers, passing it back and forth smoothly from one hand to the other without pause.

The little girl's shocking behavior was extremely unsettling for the four adults that sat at the same table...but it was her completely focused and _empty_ expression that disturbed them the most.

* * *

to be continued

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

The deadly venom McGarrett was referring to comes from the Hydrophis Belcheri (Belcher's Sea Snake), named after a British Naval Officer and explorer Sir Edward Belcher (1799-1877). This non-terrestrial snake's main habitat is the Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea off the north-western coast of Australia. It's mostly active at night, but the snake itself is docile and rarely injects its venom.

I decided to kick LCDR McGarrett's Badass Level up a notch. LOL. (c'mon, he's a SEAL!) ;D

US Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D) or more commonly known as 'Delta Force.'

So? Good, bad, or just plain undecided? Drop me a note and let me know what you think! ^_^


	3. Promise is a Promise

**Hawaiian Crossroads: Chapter 03 - Promise is a Promise**

Mindy Macready made her way downstairs with some difficulty, though she could hear the conversation of the four adults more clearly. Quietly, she entered the kitchen, eased her way down to the floor and leaned against the side of a counter.

The man that took her in had emptied the entire contents of her knapsack and suspected (correctly) that all the items belonged to her. His other companions, however, thought that he was totally crazy for even suggesting it.

When they talked about dusting her stuff for prints, she frowned. Some of the items she had with her were irreplaceable. She had to hash out some kind of strategy to prevent them from taking her stuff away. That's when she heard an unforeseen tidbit of information that made her want to jump up and tap-dance.

_Cool-beans!_

The man that took her in was a Special Forces Navy SEAL, which explained the firepower and the wicked-looking knife she found. As she anticipated, he wasn't too happy about almost getting killed last night, either. Not that she'd blame him. Besides, it was purely self-defense on her part. At the time, she had no idea what kind of man she was dealing with.

She listened as their discussion turned into a heated argument, particularly between Navy SEAL Steve and the cranky one called Danny. Since she couldn't see what they were doing from where she sat, she imagined that the animosity between the two men was about to get physical.

Then, unexpectedly, Navy SEAL Steve talked about his combat knife being coated with a lethal dose of extremely potent snake venom.

_No way!_

Mindy shuddered a bit. Last night, she'd almost touched the knife _herself_ and from the sounds of it, she wasn't alone in the 'close-calls to the Grim Reaper' department. Just yesterday, Cranky Danny had almost gotten his head blown off.

Wincing, she slowly stood up and walked toward the kitchen's island counter. It was time she injected herself into their company.

The tall, slim Asian woman spotted her first from across the room and all eyes were now focused on her.

She studied the features of each of the four adults from where she stood. Having only caught a glimpse of him last night, Navy SEAL Steve had the physical attributes and general demeanor she imagined from someone with a military Special Forces background. Likewise, the guy's cargo pants and overall impression screamed _soldier_. Not to be outdone, Cranky Danny looked about as solid as a _tank_. He was much shorter than the rest of his team, but his height in no way diminished his imposing presence. Her only word of advice, were she to give it, was for him to ditch that stupid cane! Next to Cranky Danny stood the statuesque Asian woman, who was fit, slim and nicely tanned. She was, most likely, a resident of the island like the other nicely tanned Asian man that stood with them.

They were now trying to coax her into talking to them. She would have to do that eventually, but right now, it was Navy SEAL Steve that fascinated her the most.

When she sat at the table with them, she could tell that she was making them nervous. She hadn't bothered to check her appearance when she decided to reveal herself to them, so she guessed that she looked like quite a fright. Also, Navy SEAL Steve was right about her having a fever. Mindy knew she was burning up, but it was more important to make sure they didn't take away her stuff when she gave in to returning to bed. Furthermore, it had taken some pride and effort on her part to customize her HK Compact. She didn't want it going anywhere.

Hmm. How to answer the SEAL guy's direct question. She could easily tell them the truth and somehow explain how everything on the table was _her_ stuff. It was a reckless option but the words never made it past her lips. Instead, her eyes drifted and settled on the butterfly knife her dad had given to her for her birthday, just nine months ago.

A lump formed in her throat that she forcefully fought back.

_Daddy, I really miss you._

Impulsively, she reached out and held the stainless steel butterfly knife with both hands. She was even tempted to twirl it out of nervous habit.

_+Careful, baby-girl. You don't want to scare these nice people. They're just trying to help you+, _her father's voice echoed in her head.

_What the hell am I supposed to do, Daddy, _she answered the phantom voice angrily. _I'm all alone and you're NOT HERE!_

Agitated, she began twirling the butterfly knife like there was no tomorrow. The urge to go and _hurt_ something was so strong, she could almost taste it.

* * *

Williams pulled McGarrett aside into the kitchen as the little girl continued twirling the butterfly knife in her hands with earnest.

"Okay, you were right. You're _not_ crazy. We've now officially established that there is something _seriously_ wrong with that little girl," Danny whispered heatedly.

Both men glanced over to the dining table and saw the troubled looks on Kono and Chin's faces. The girl hadn't stopped twirling the butterfly knife, in actuality, it looked like she was twirling the thing _faster_.

"Can you, _please_, make her stop," Danny said through his teeth.

"What do you expect _me_ to do?"

"I don't know. You're a SEAL, didn't they train you how to disarm people?"

"Sorry, Danny, I skipped the special course on how to disarm _children_."

Williams shuddered. He'd be haunted by the sound of that butterfly knife's clickity-clicking in his head for the rest of his life. Gripping the handle of his cane till his knuckles turned white, he whispered in a more persuasive tone. "Listen, you're the only one here who can stop her from doing that."

"Why?"

"Well, only God knows the real reason why, but that little girl over there thinks she can trust you," Danny said, staring at his partner.

"I'm not a child psychologist, Danny...but I'll give it a try," McGarrett unwillingly relented, giving Williams a stern look. "Don't you dare blame me if things go south."

"Better you than me. I'd rather keep all my digits," Danny said wryly, wiggling his fingers.

Giving his partner a long-suffering stare, McGarrett left the kitchen and returned to his seat at the dining table. The troubled little girl he'd taken in sat rigid in her chair, persistently spinning the butterfly knife she had back and forth between her hands. Having absolutely no idea how to get the little girl to speak to them, much less stop what she was doing, he merely said the first words that came to mind.

"You're really good at that."

Immediately, the girl _stopped_. Just like that. She placed the butterfly knife down carefully on the table between her hands.

_Was it supposed to be that easy?_ Steve said to himself dubiously. He caught the flabbergasted faces of his colleagues and looked to Danny, who stared back, just as confused.

Nevertheless, Steve seized the moment and hoped that his next choice of words presented him with some sort of breakthrough.

"I...have a confession to make," McGarrett said. From what he'd observed, so far, his brutal honesty was somehow appealing to her.

The girl slowly turned her head to face him directly.

_Progress!_

"I took you to a hospital last night."

When he received a concerned reaction from her, McGarrett said quickly, "you were unconscious and you lost a lot of blood. I called Chin here who knew a good female doctor that fixed you up. Apart from stitches to a clean knife wound across your stomach, the doctor gave you a small blood transfusion. She also told us you sustained a mild concussion, along with multiple bruises and abrasions." He held her gaze for a moment and added, "can you tell us who hurt you."

The little girl looked away and after some thought, said quietly, "he's dead now."

Kono almost gasped as she glanced at each of her companions worriedly. Chin remained silent but Danny was chomping at the bit, ready to take over the little girl's interrogation. McGarrett shook his head slightly at Williams indicating that he wasn't finished.

"When I told you last night that I'd help you, I _meant_ it, but in order for me to do that, I need to know what happened to you."

The little girl let out a long, tired sigh.

"Honey, listen, whatever happened to you, it _wasn't_ your fault," Danny spoke up slowly and gently. "If someone was trying to kill you, you had no choice but to _defend_ yourself, okay? The four of us aren't here to blame you for anything. It's our job to help and I _do_ understand that you're really scared right now, but I promise you, you _will_ get through this."

When the girl looked up to face him, Williams could've sworn he saw _no_ discernible trace of fear in her eyes.

Clearing her raspy throat, the girl said flatly, "there's a house..." All four adults leaned closer. "1751 Lime Street."

"Lime cuts across Hauoli Street, off Kapiolani Boulevard, behind the Century Center building," Chin said, breaking out his cellphone to thumb through the police dispatch reports. "Nobody's called anything in from that address yet."

"Chin, you and Danny check the place out, call me the minute you find something. Kono, I need you here to...help me out," McGarrett instructed and saw that Danny's eyebrows rose considerably up his forehead. "What?"

"Be-still my beating heart...are you seriously going to sit this one out?" Danny said in amazement.

"I've assessed the situation and the prudent course of action is for me to stay here," Steve answered brusquely as he removed the gun and holster strapped to his belt, placing it beside the other items on the table which he began rearranging.

"Aye, aye, Lieutenant Commander," Danny remarked sarcastically, picked up an empty 16 ounce water bottle by the cap from the table, then turned on his heels and walked out with Chin.

"Kono, got your laptop on you?" McGarrett asked. His, unfortunately, was heavily damaged on their last case. He'd have find the time to prepare a new one.

"It's in my car. I'll be right back," Kono said and smiled at the little girl before she sprinted out of the room.

"All right. You and I both know my fridge is empty, but I'm fairly certain you're hungry and thirsty," McGarrett said, once Kono was out of earshot.

One of the bottles of water the girl had taken from his kitchen last night slid to a stop in front of her.

"Dr. Ogihara gave me these antibiotics for you to take. I also know a great place we can call up that delivers the best pizza in Honolulu," he said warmly.

The little girl looked at the unopened bottle of water and the small container half-full of pills. Slowly, she picked up the container, read the label and took the prescription, drinking the entire contents of the now opened 16 ounce bottle of water.

"Thanks," she mumbled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"What would you like on your pizza?" McGarrett prodded and passed her a well-worn take-out menu. She stared at the title page for a moment then took a deep, shaky breath, a small twitch at a corner of her mouth. "Is that a smile?"

"It's the motto for J.J. Dolan's: 'An Irish Pub with New York Pizza from Two Guys in Chinatown.' My dad and I always found it funny," she said softly.

"Your dad must be worried sick about you right now," McGarrett cast out - a possible incendiary for getting her to talk - as Kono came in with her laptop and set it down on the table.

"My dad's dead too."

Again the room was plunged into a heavy silence as both McGarrett and Kono's heads jerked toward her.

"My dad died nine months ago before I moved here to live with my uncle. He's the one with the house on Lime."

Prompted into action, McGarrett grabbed his cellphone and sent a short text to check on Chin and Danny's progress. Typing swiftly on her keyboard, Kono accessed the background information on the owner of the property the girl claimed belonged to her uncle.

Over her shoulder, McGarrett's eyes scanned over the records that popped up on Kono's laptop monitor. When the man's photos and credentials began pouring in, both Kono and Steve couldn't believe what they were reading.

"Says here your uncle's Lieutenant Colonel Jarlath Ballard, a retired and heavily decorated officer from the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. That's an elite division of the US army. Did you know about that?" McGarrett asked the girl. When she nodded, he said carefully, "you can tell me. Don't be afraid. Was it your uncle? Was he the one who hurt you?" That would explain her bizarre behavior and her refusal to talk to them.

"No," she said, fidgeting with the leaflet she held.

Peering from her monitor, Kono watched as McGarrett pulled his chair closer to face the little girl, leaning down to her eye level.

"You're safe here with me. I won't let anyone hurt you. So, I'll make you a promise. If you can tell us what happened to you, I'll do _everything_ in my power to help you. _Personally_. Whatever you need, just name it. Okay?" McGarrett said with the utmost sincerity. Kono was both impressed and mystified. "Are those terms acceptable to you?"

Behind him, Kono cocked an eyebrow at his last statement. It was an assumption on his part accepting that the girl's family history was heavily linked with the military.

When the little girl locked eyes with him, McGarrett steadily held his gaze, silently willing for her to see the depth of his commitment, proof that she'd somehow find emblazoned brightly across his corneas.

"Will you _promise_ me on your honor as a Navy SEAL then?" she told McGarrett bluntly, offering the hooked pinky of her right hand to him. He was completely taken aback by her words. Kono was likewise as surprised. Apparently, the girl had been listening to their discussions earlier. How much she'd heard, they'd find out eventually.

Smiling in agreement, McGarrett raised his right hand in a perfect imitation of her gesture, his hooked pinky interlocking with the little girl's tightly. He held his ground, waiting until she loosened her grip first.

Instantly, the little girl was more relaxed. McGarrett could feel it through their pinky-lock. Kono lamented the fact that she couldn't take a quick picture of her boss doing a 'pinky-swear.'

"Then I accept your offer, Lieutenant Commander McGarrett and I'll hold you to it," she said solemnly, then flashed him an adorably crooked smile, shook their interlocked pinkies once and let go. "Hi, my name's Mindy."

That was the moment McGarrett allowed _himself_ to relax. Now that the little girl trusted him completely, he was eager to get to the bottom of Mindy's mystery.

"Is there someone else, other than your uncle, who might be worried about you," McGarrett asked, then briefly checked an incoming message on his phone. He saw the girl shake her head.

"No," Mindy lied smoothly and somberly. "I'm the only one left now." She played with a folded corner of the pizza leaflet as her stomach picked the occasion to rumble embarrassingly. Her face went tomato red. "Sorry."

"No, its entirely _my_ fault. I should have fed you first. Did you get a chance to choose something you like?" McGarrett asked, already scrolling through his phone's contact list for the J.J. Dolan's number. He looked over to see what Mindy was pointing to on the menu. "The Giacomo? Really?"

He was astonished. Out of all the types of pizza listed, the girl had picked his absolute favorite. His work with the Five-0 Task Force had been so busy lately that he hadn't found the time to indulge himself.

"My dad always ordered it, so it grew on me," Mindy replied, shrugging.

"Okay. A Giacomo it is then," Steve said and even ordered extra pizzas for the rest of his team. After he finished up with the pub, his phone instantaneously began buzzing. "Danny..." He nodded and listened to what his partner had to say. "I see. Make the call to HPD once you and Chin finish your sweep, then our lab techs can give us their reports. I'm sure Max can use the challenge." He grinned, then said, "yeah, it'll be a fun visit, I'm sure. Danny, once you and Chin are finished, the two of you can take a load off at my place. I'm buying dinner. No, nothing fancy, we're joining _Mindy_ here for some pizza." He chuckled. "I knew you'd be impressed. Anyway, the pizzas are from this place I've been telling you about. I even went the extra mile and got you something special. You'll see when you get here. Besides, you're the only one who can tell me if it's any good. Oh and tell Chin I got him extra pineapple, anchovies and jalapeños on the side. Don't ask."

When he hung up his phone, he saw Kono hiding her amusement and Mindy's strange face.

"I grew up in a liberal household...so you and your partner don't have to tiptoe around, y'know, the _issue_," Mindy said with a smile. Kono quickly placed a hand over her mouth as McGarrett appeared stunned. Was this the same girl who, just earlier, refused to say a single word? _Now_, she's suddenly spitting out witty commentary on a subject matter someone her age shouldn't begin to understand!

Kono decided to help McGarrett out. "Mindy, it's true that Steve and Danny just _work_ together, but the two of them have this weird habit of giving people the wrong impression sometimes."

"Thanks, Kono. I think," McGarrett replied dryly. "Do you mind helping Mindy get cleaned up? I have some new shirts laid out in the master bedroom en suite."

"Maybe your sister has clothes Mindy can borrow instead? She's kinda drowning in your shirt here," Kono remarked.

"I'm sure Mary Ann won't mind, but I'd rather not be the one to go through her stuff."

"Fair enough," Kono grinned, held out her hand and winked. "Come on, Mindy. Let's get you dolled up for dinner."

* * *

To be continued

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

J.J. Dolans 'The Giacomo' pizza - topped with sausage, pepperoni, salami and olives.

Wow. The world of military Spec Ops is quite incredible and some of the reading I've done only barely touches the surface!

Other H50 characters will be making appearances as well. ^_^

By the way, every dividing-line signals a change in POV. So, far, it's mostly between McGarrett and Mindy. In later chapters, pretty much everyone gets a turn.

Pictures are up! Just go to my ffnet Profile page and click on the link called 'DeviantArt Scrapbook' to find images directly relevant to this story. ^_^ Enjoy!


	4. Over Pizza and Wine

**Hawaiian Crossroads: Chapter 04 - Over Pizza and Wine**

_+You're playing a dangerous game here, baby-doll.+_

_I know that, Daddy, but the SEAL made me a promise and I'm going to make him keep it._

_+I never taught you to abuse someone's trust.+_

_No, but you taught me how to survive, Daddy, and that's what I'm doing._

_+I'm sorry, honey-bunny. I never meant for you to be all alone like this.+_

_Of course not, Daddy, and I'll be careful. I love you._

_+I love you too, sugar.+_

"...you don't have to worry about anything, we'll take care of you."

"I'm sorry, Kono. I wasn't...exactly paying attention," Mindy said meekly. She sat in front of a vanity mirror in a room that belonged to SEAL Steve's sister, Mary Ann. Compared to her brother who preferred things spotless and tidy, she was his polar opposite as her things were scattered in a whirlwind of messy. It was nothing short of a miracle how she and Kono were able to find something suitable - and clean - for her to wear.

"There we go. Once you're cut's sealed up, you can take a hot bubble bath," Kono said, admiring her handiwork in the vanity mirror. She'd parted Mindy's hair into two braided ponytails. "You like it?" When the girl nodded, she smiled. "Okay, let's go get us some pizza."

* * *

McGarrett sat at Kono's laptop on the dining table studying the background data on Mindy's uncle, LtCol Jarlath Ballard, a retired 1st SFOD-D Operative. He'd sent out several emails to military contacts 'fishing' for further information and the few who'd replied back immediately provided some enlightening facts.

Not long after Ballard's retirement from an illustrious military career, the man turned professional mercenary under the tag name 'Jester.' Ballard accepted various jobs from protection to assassination and had developed a good reputation among wealthy clients who'd passed him around by word of mouth. The former soldier had enjoyed the attention and had accumulated expensive gifts from satisfied clients. Among them was 'Alithia', a 130 foot sailing yacht built by Abeking & Rasmussen, a high quality German manufacturer with 90 years experience building custom, private, commercial and even military ships for the Navy and Coast Guard. When a picture of Ballard's sailing yacht 'Alithia' popped up onscreen, Steve blew an appreciative whistle.

Ballard's accounts also had a substantial amount of funds remaining, which would guarantee Mindy's future, but once word of her uncle's murder surfaced, it may take some time before Mindy would find some peace. The case would inevitably be locked down and fall under FBI jurisdiction because of its sensitive nature involving the violent demise of a highly decorated Special Forces military officer. With Mindy being a possible key witness to her uncle's murder, her testimony would be invaluable evidence against her uncle's killers, which would automatically place her in the Witness Protection Program.

Wanting to expedite Mindy's receiving her inheritance before events escalated, McGarrett sent out formal requisitions to Ballard's lawyer needing his will, including the man's birth certificate and further information on next of kin.

Leaning back against his chair, McGarrett closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He was feeling the preliminary onslaught of a headache since his last assignment had him and his Five-O team running at full steam for nearly 48 hours during the last phase of the operation. He was certain the others were starting to crash as well and some winding down was sorely needed, which led to his decision to have an impromptu pizza dinner at his place. The last time the four of them sat down together in a more casual environment was when they'd first moved into the new Five-0 headquarters.

The only (major) exception was the presence of a mysterious eleven year old girl who was ironically their next inevitable, though still unofficial, case file. Incidentally, he'd best send Mindy off to rest once the girl had finished her dinner.

Kono entered the room with her just as McGarrett stood up to clear the dining table and he was pleasantly surprised to see a considerable improvement to the girl's appearance. No longer looking like she'd stepped out of a hurricane, Mindy's long, strawberry-blonde hair was combed straight, parted and braided down the sides of her face with white elastics tying both ends. They found a pair of cutoff track pants which hung comfortably low around Mindy's hips, (a good distance from the cut on her abdomen) and she wore one of his sister's 'witty' souvenir shirts with the printed words: 'Screw a Guy from Greenpeace, Spread the Love' in tacky lime green ink on black fabric. The slogan was inappropriate for Mindy's age, but judging from Kono's face, it was the best they could find. Apparently, Mary Ann was behind on her laundry again.

"You're both just in time. The pizzas should be here any minute," McGarrett said, packing away the various weapons that belonged in the jet-black MAP off the dining table. He noticed Mindy watching him intently, her eyes following him to the couch where he deposited the MAP temporarily.

"Here, have a seat while I go help set the table," Kono said and led Mindy to the couch where the little girl carefully sat down.

In the kitchen, when the noise of clattering and clinking reached an apex, McGarrett whispered to Kono, "how do you think she's doing?"

"I think she's holding up amazingly well considering what she may have gone through. For her sake, I really hope she didn't have to resort to self-defense. I can't begin to imagine the kind of psychological damage a kid her age would suffer as a result of something like that," Kono whispered back sadly.

"I've seen the extreme. Child soldiers in Africa. Boys as young as eight taken from their families and forced to join the local militia. To think that such atrocities like that are committed in parts of the world right now..." He shook his head slowly. "Being there and seeing those children...the absolute emptiness and despair in their eyes...it was undeniably one of the _worst_ experiences of my life," McGarrett said morosely, almost in a daze as he handed Kono some plates. Then, like a light switch, he seemed himself again. "I'm sorry...I don't...I shouldn't have told you that."

He abruptly turned away from her and opened a cabinet to fetch some wine glasses, a bottle opener and a few chiller stands.

Kono was stunned by what McGarrett had told her. During the span of that moment he'd opened up, she felt a profound sense of sadness from him. In the few months they'd worked together, whether it was a result of his military training or the man himself, Steve's emotions had always been _guarded_ and impeccably controlled. What brought on the sudden change?

She'd have to schedule another talk with her cousin, Chin, later tonight, but based on what she'd gathered so far, it was evident that the minute Mindy had appeared among them, there were definitive 'lapses' in McGarrett's behavior. Chin's experience at the hospital last night was a good first example and McGarrett's bizarre performance earlier with his combat knife was the second. It was a bit disconcerting to say the least.

As the head of their special investigative task force, Steve McGarrett was a superb package: a leader, a team player and a friend. They were qualities she greatly admired in him. As her boss, he was efficient, personable, approachable and a good instructor. It made her feel like the _luckiest_ person in the world having been chosen by him to be part of such an incredible team with her _barely_ out of the police academy! Not a bad accomplishment for a rookie cop landing a stellar job placement at the beginning of her career. Just like her cousin, Chin, she'd be grateful to _this_ McGarrett for the rest of her life.

Seeing Steve's sullen expression made her uncomfortable and she attempted to lighten his mood by nudging him with her elbow and saying, "so, pizza and wine, huh? Stylish."

"With strictly grape juice for our guest," McGarrett said, feigning a smile.

"Hey, we'll help Mindy get through this. Just like you, I want to see that girl have a bright and happy future," Kono reassured him, pinpointing the possible principal concern weighing down Steve's shoulders.

"I know. She still hasn't told us the whole story, but I hope she can open up to us before the FBI takes over this case," he replied. _I have different questions of my own I need to ask her._

* * *

There was a loud, repeated ringing of a door bell.

Mindy watched quietly as SEAL Steve and Kono ushered in two cheerful delivery guys, their arms laden with large pizza boxes and bulging brown bags. Her hosts stood to one side as the delivery guys unpacked their order.

_Pizza and wine? That's a new one_, Mindy thought to herself, counting seven pizza boxes and five bottles of wine; three red, two white. Seems like the adults were planning to get their drink on tonight which meant she'd be treated to some interesting conversations later on. She also heard mumbling coming from the kitchen earlier and hoped that whatever topic SEAL Steve and Kono were whispering about would surface later as well. Her eyes were then drawn to her knapsack beside her, resisting the compulsion to touch it.

Not long after the pizza delivery, Cranky Danny and Chin, both looking exhausted, walked through the front door, discarding their shoes on a designated mat. They removed their weapons, badges and body armor, adding them to a small pile on a chair in the living room.

"Smell that pizza! I am _starving_," Danny declared excitedly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. He saw Mindy sitting on the couch, all cleaned up and looking more like a little girl who didn't seem much older than his own daughter, Grace. "Shall I escort you to the table, pretty miss?"

"Sure," Mindy replied, responding to the blonde man's genuinely open, friendly smile. She placed her hand in Cranky Danny's outstretched palm and allowed him to limp her over to the dining table. SEAL Steve indicated her place with a gesture and she sat herself down, wincing when the cut on her stomach gave a sharp twinge. The adults quickly picked up on it.

"Dr. Ogihara included pain medication in your prescription, Mindy, why didn't you take any?" McGarrett asked.

"I don't trust painkillers," Mindy stated quietly, causing the four adults to fidget uneasily. Why the hell were her answers making them nervous? "There's tons of pizza here," she added, effectively diffusing the tension. "Are we gonna be able to eat all of this?"

"We have three starving _men_ at the table, Mindy. What do you think?" Kono said with a grin and was rewarded with the girl's small smile. "How many slices would you like?" She offered the girl her own Margherita pizza.

"She's having the Giacomo," McGarrett said proudly, amid some raised eyebrows as he presented his pizza box to her instead. She took three slices.

"Wow. Olives. That's...really brave of you Mindy," Danny remarked and switched to his 'favorite' person. "You, uh, got enough _meat_ on that thing there, Jaws?" He knew he was stalling, unsure of precisely what McGarrett's 'special order' had in store for him. Was his pizza dough soaked in flaming-hot suicide sauce?

There was that patented McGarrett smirk, as the tall, handsome brunette folded one of his wedges in half and nearly ate the entire slice in one bite like a ravenous shark. They watched as he leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, cheeks bulging, relishing the flavor of his favorite pizza with a small, silly smile on his lips. For a guy who preached like the Pope about how neat and tidy he was, Steve made a definite _exception_ with himself tonight. There was an avalanche of crumbs scattered on his shirt as oil and tomato sauce made blotted patterns around his mouth and chin.

"Attractive," Danny said. "You should be wearing a bib the size of a blanket." It irked him further when Steve was hardly bothered by his comment.

"You're not the least bit curious?" McGarrett challenged the minute he could speak. "I know you're hungry, Danny, and I swear on my life, I'm not playing a prank." He even placed a hand above his heart to that effect. "Eat it before it gets cold."

Still doubtful of his dinner, Williams grudgingly unfastened the tab of his pizza box with his fingers, surrendering to the inevitable horror-show. However, when he lifted the lid slightly, an all-too-familiar smell invaded his nostrils and his eyes widened momentarily in shock.

"No way," Danny exclaimed, quickly flipping open the lid of his pizza box. Gaping like a fish, he stared in disbelief at his large New Jersey-style pizza called a 'White Pie' topped with mozzarella and ricotta on a thin crust.

"Phoned up your old precinct in Newark and some buddies of yours told me it was _mandatory_ that I include these," McGarrett said, tossing two family sized bags of kettle-cooked, sour cream and onion flavored potato chips on the table, both bags in Williams' favorite brand. Danny was rendered speechless (for once) as he simply stared at the bags of chips.

For a split second, Williams looked like he was dangerously about to _cry_, which gave McGarrett a good indication of just how _homesick_ Danny truly was!

"I guess I'm forgiven then?" McGarrett said, more like a statement than a question.

Danny simply nodded, not trusting the use of his own voice, his eyes remaining glued to the potato chip bags and his Jersey-style pizza.

"They're _doing_ it again," Mindy whispered to Kono, who'd leaned toward her. "Those two should just come clean. They're not fooling anybody."

When Kono burst out laughing, the others stared at her in confusion. Ignoring them, she whispered back, "I keep a running tally on them," and winked. Mindy stuffed a pizza in her mouth with a grin.

"What are the two of you up to over there?" Chin asked curiously, his eyes shining with amusement. Shrugging, Kono studiously munched on her pizza slice, barely hiding a smile that was plastered to her face. On a side note, he was quite relieved to see that their little guest, Mindy, was warming up to them rather amicably.

There was an audible sniff followed by Danny clearing his throat. Reverently, he opened one of the bags, grabbed huge handfuls of potato chips and crushed them carefully with his fingers, the pieces falling from his hands like snowflakes. He repeated this process until he'd methodically coated his entire pizza with crushed sour cream and onion potato chips. He then grabbed two slices, folded them together crust-out like a sandwich and ate a generous mouthful.

There was a low, rumbling moan as Williams closed his eyes, his cheeks bulging out like a chipmunk's as he chewed, each crunch and crackle exaggerated by the deliberate slowness of his jaw movements, his face an image of pure bliss. Oh, and yes, _Dear God_, the food tasted unmistakably like _home_ and Danny hardly cared that he had an audience to what should have been a private ritual. As for the person directly responsible for bringing him this little taste of nostalgic heaven, he reluctantly realized that he was rapidly becoming indebted to McGarrett in more ways than he'd like to admit. The premium hotel tickets for an unforgettably fun weekend with Gracie and the unexpected intervention with Rachel's custody mood-swing...all happened within barely a month of knowing the guy! Now _this_. As the direct recipient of McGarrett's spontaneous generosity, a simple 'thank you' now seemed pathetically inadequate. He'd have to figure out a more creative way to express his gratitude. Maybe he'd interrogate Chin to cough up some useful information since he'd known Steve's dad...but he'd tackle that some other time. Presently, he'd rather devote his full attention to the wonderful food he was eating.

The others respectfully kept quiet, allowing Williams the opportunity to enjoy his meal. McGarrett exchanged knowing glances with Kono and Chin as he began loading his own pizza with pineapple, extra jalapeños and a few anchovies. Likewise, Chin began sprinkling his Scampi pie with the same ingredients, except with a few more anchovies, just as Kono reached over to add pineapple on her own slices.

_Huh. At least I'm not alone when it comes to bizarre eating-habits_, Mindy said to herself. She wasn't exposed to much seafood growing up, but her dad had taken them to a few all-you-can-eat shrimp dinners in the past, her eyes drifting down speculatively to officer Kelly's uncontaminated slices.

"Would you like to try one?" Chin offered, accurately reading Mindy's gaze. When she nodded, he placed a shrimp-loaded wedge onto her plate.

The popping of corks signaled the wine-drinking as McGarrett began pouring out red and white wine from chilled bottles. After distributing full wine glasses to the rest of his team, he gave Mindy her own wine glass filled with grape juice.

"To good food and good company," Steve stated, raising his glass of red wine with a smile. The impulse for ceremony called out to him and the others gladly participated.

"To everyone's health and happiness," Kono added brightly, lifting her glass of Pinot Grigio by the stem.

"To home and the heart," Chin said with a warm, knowing smile, elevating is own glass of white wine.

Slowly, Danny brought up his own glass, cleared his throat and said quietly, "To good friends who have your back," and looked sincerely at each member of the Five-0 team. The four of them then turned, encouragingly, to the little girl who sat with them.

She was hoping they'd skip her altogether. Despite their friendly gestures to include her in their circle, she felt oddly out of place. "To...um," Mindy hesitated, shyly raising her glass of grape juice, her mind a pitiful blank.

"Just say the first thing that comes to mind," McGarrett said graciously.

"To...well...being _alive_," Mindy proclaimed, staring deliberately at both McGarrett and Chin, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"I'll toast to that," Danny remarked with gusto as the sound of wine glasses chiming against each other filled the room.

* * *

After a while, dinner settled down with everyone sufficiently full as Mindy looked around, surveying the 'damage.' Three empty wine bottles stood beside a collapsed pile of pizza boxes on the kitchen counter and the adults were left pleasantly mellow from a steadily increasing wine buzz. Some, however, were a bit more inebriated than others.

"This is good stuff," Danny said with a slight slur. He recalled starting on white wine to complement his Jersey-style pizza which somehow switched to red the minute he'd finished eating. Furthermore, it was _very_ uncharacteristic of him to travel on an expressway to Drunkville with present company, especially with a child watching, but _someone_ kept surreptitiously topping up his wine for him every time he went to take a drink! "Whadya get us, Commander, if I may ask?"

"The red's a Melville, Syrah 2006 and the white's a Stella, Pinot Grigio 2007," McGarrett supplied and returned both bottles to their separate chillers.

"Well, they both taste darn good with pizza," Danny said, leaning back against his chair. He languidly glanced at everyone's plates, most of them littered with toasted crust edges and chunks of extra topping. "I will _never_ understand this place's love affair with pineapple. Oh and Chin? I'm sorry to say it, buddy, but _that_ is just gross," gesturing to the remains of Kelly's dinner.

"I don't judge other people's quirks, brah, and neither should you," Chin remarked in amusement, sipping at his wine glass, his gaze drifting between the remnants of Danny's pizza and an empty bag of sour cream and onion potato chips.

A wide yawn from Mindy prompted the adults at the table to look over at her with concern.

"Okay, sleepyhead, it's bedtime for you," Danny pointed out, his face the perfect imitation of a child's pouty expression.

"I've set Mindy up in the master bedroom upstairs and I'll initiate the motion detectors around the house's perimeter before I go to sleep. She'll be safe here with me," McGarrett assured his team.

"Child protection, commando-style. Hmm, you know what, wait, that doesn't sound right," Danny backtracked, scratching his head. The others wished he'd refrain from speaking.

"I'll go start some coffee," McGarrett offered and retreated to the kitchen. As much as it entertained him to watch Williams in a silly stupor, (which he wished he could do all night) with Mindy among them, he felt it was best to contain the situation.

"What's wrong, Mindy?" Kono asked gently. The girl's face was pensive as she stared at a half-eaten slice on her plate.

"Since I have no family left to take care of me, I'm gonna end up in some foster home through Child Welfare Services, aren't I?"

The four adults froze in place. They all turned to face her with tense expressions.

"My dad was a cop, so I know the drill," Mindy stated. She now had the room's undivided attention. "With me being the witness to a crime, I'll have to be placed under protective custody...but here's the problem: I'm _not_ a witness. The best I can do is give a statement. So, here it is. I was in my room, so I didn't see anything. I heard two men come into the house to see my uncle. They were talking at first, but then they all started yelling. When I heard gunfire, I hid under my bed." She turned her head toward the couch. "Kono, could you get that knapsack over there for me, please?"

The woman stood quickly to her feet, looked to the other adults for approval and came back with the black knapsack which Mindy placed on her lap.

"Uh, Mindy, I think you should let us handle whatever's in there," Danny spoke up in a moment of clarity, his hand moving reflexively toward her. The others made similar motions.

The little girl sighed, picked up an unused napkin from the table and unfolded it, wrapping it around her hand. She felt the tension in the room spike when she reached into the knapsack and pulled out the 9mm H&K USP Compact, the gun's muzzle pointed (thankfully) toward the ceiling.

"This was my dad's gun," Mindy lied smoothly. "His back-up weapon which he taught me how to use, just in case." She then placed the gun back inside the knapsack, discarding the napkin around her right hand. "You asked me earlier if all this stuff was mine," she said, looking toward McGarrett. "It is. The knapsack and the flashlight were gifts from my uncle...sort of like a welcome present. The ninja spike was his idea of a joke." She shrugged.

"What about the butterfly knife?" McGarrett asked, his arms crossed. He now stood next to where Chin was seated at the table.

They all saw the instant change on her face. It was the same inexplicable, melancholy expression she had on just before she -

"My dad gave it to me for protection," came her tight, almost angry reply.

Williams turned his head to exchange troubled glances with his companions. What father in their right mind gave a butterfly knife to his own daughter? The girl's late father (a police officer) should have known better than to do something as _reckless_ and irresponsible as -

That's when an image of his own beloved Grace, flooded Danny's mind. What if it was _Grace_ who needed self-protection? Over the years with his career in law enforcement, he'd stood toe-to-toe with the ugliest, most vile dregs of humanity that saw fit to prey upon decent, law-abiding citizens. Yet, here he was reprimanding Mindy's father for trying - in his own benign but misguided way - to keep his child _safe_. Would he then suffer in the throes of self-denial on the day when Gracie had the right to learn how to shoot a gun! Good God! It was a _terrifying_ issue that Danny was being forced to tackle as he was confronted by an overwhelming sense of dread which stared back at him in Mindy's little form.

"All right. If you claim the items are yours, I believe you," McGarrett said. Before any of his companions could protest, he held up a hand and said, "_but_, I would like to ask your permission, Mindy, if we can borrow them for a while. If you know police procedure then you must understand that we _have_ to make absolutely sure that those items in your possession bare no direct involvement to your uncle's murder. I promise you, the minute that all the items have been cleared, they will be returned to you immediately. I need your full cooperation on this."

Four pairs of eyes bore into her, mostly with sympathy and confusion. She sat deep in thought for a few moments, her hands tightening perceptively around the knapsack. Then, with a heavy sigh, she placed the bag on the table, pushing it slightly away from her.

"Fine. You can _borrow_ my bag, but I want everything inside it back the way you found it," Mindy stated, with underlying intensity. "Please."

"Thank you and you have my word," McGarrett answered as he held her gaze with equal strength. His companions stared in silent speculation at the two of them.

"I'm tired, so I'll be going to bed now," Mindy said quietly and stood up. She left the dining room with Kono trotting after her.

* * *

McGarrett returned to the kitchen to finish preparing coffee as Chin and Danny sat in contemplative silence. Chin kept glancing at the black knapsack on the table that belonged to Mindy, while Danny had been staring unblinkingly at nothing in particular with a very troubled expression.

"You okay, Danny?" Chin asked.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"You spaced out for a while there and not in a good way. Wanna talk about it?" Chin spoke with fatherly concern.

Under different circumstances, Danny would've welcomed Chin's open invitation to discuss his inner turmoil, since Kelly was one of the few people he met who he felt comfortable enough to confide in. Right now, his alcohol-soaked brain simply found Chin's question maddeningly irritating, much like fingernails scratching down a chalkboard.

Looking belligerent, Williams took his wine glass and chugged down the rest of its contents in one long gulp. At this point, he'd long past cared about how much he'd had to drink. Also, the burning animosity bubbling in his chest regarding the whole fucked-up situation with their seriously messed-up little ward had reached a sort of boiling point.

"Do I wanna _talk_ about it, he says?" Danny repeated loudly, his voice in a higher octave, his arms moving in an elaborate flourish. He could hear the urgent, rhythmic pumping of blood echoing in his eardrums and it registered in some remote part of his brain that his current actions in the stifling humidity of the violently swaying room were very good indications that his mellow buzz had been replaced by immature, angry drunkenness. He then planted his chin on both his fists, his head slightly tilted, his elbows on the table.

"Gee, I don't know, Dr. Feelgood, maybe it's just _me_, but there's _something_ about that girl Mindy that's, frankly, freaking the holy shit out of me," he nearly yelled out his last few words as he ran a hand through his thick blonde hair, messing the neatly combed strands out of anxiety.

"You're not alone on that one, Danno," McGarrett agreed as he replied back soothingly, rejoining Chin and a drunk, agitated Williams at the dining table. He hoped that his softer, calmer tone of voice would relax his blonde partner down somewhat. "There are things about Mindy's story that don't add up. Why is there a clean knife wound across her abdomen? Someone obviously went up to her room and attacked her. I'll have to talk to her about that again tomorrow after she's had some rest. Also, the snapshots you guys sent me of the sheer brutality of the murder scene: Ballard wasn't just murdered, he was executed and _tortured_. Hanging him upside down with razor wire around his feet and neck, the knife slashes, multiple nails from a nail gun and gutting him like a farm pig, isn't exactly the work of an average thug. Which begs the question, how long was Mindy up in her room the entire time?"

There was movement from Danny as his elbows came up to rest on the table, his bent head locked between the clamp of his arms against his ears, his eyes shut tightly as he leaned forward face down, rocking slightly back and forth with a slight groan.

"There were explicit signs of a struggle in the living room, so our victim didn't go quietly," Chin whispered, adding to the discussion. "With Ballard's Special Forces background, he must've been the one to dispatch the bodies of the two men we found in the room with him before reinforcements arrived to finish the job. We'll have to wait for ballistic and blood spatter reports to confirm precisely how many people were involved."

"Max is gonna have a field day with that autopsy report in the condition Ballard's body's in," Danny muttered from where his head rested between his arms. The annoying swaying of the room had gotten worse. "Anyway, I'd rather not think about that murder scene right now coz it's totally turning my stomach. So, that coffee ready yet, honey? And why the hell are you two whispering?"

"Coffee's ready in a minute and we're whispering because Mindy might be listening," McGarrett answered evenly, not missing a beat, his full attention back to Chin. "Was there anything else?"

Kelly nodded.

Chin glanced at Danny briefly whose head had rolled back to being face down on the table, then whispered, "when I went upstairs to check the rest of Ballard's home, I remember entering a spare bedroom where Mindy claimed she would've stayed hidden. Now that I think about it, the room itself had no indication that a little girl of Mindy's age ever stayed there."

"How so?" McGarrett asked.

"The bed was made like it had never been slept in and the room itself was set up more like a trophy room for Ballard. On the walls were medals, framed documents and certificates with pictures of the man in different platoons and with various people in uniform. Moreover, the only thing stored inside the spare bedroom's closet was a gun safe. Ballard strikes me as more of a loner than a family man which is why it's strange that he would willingly take on the responsibility of caring for a little girl. In Ballard's master bedroom, he had no images of family or friends," Chin said.

"Mindy still hasn't given us a proper time-frame of how long she'd been with her uncle. Maybe it's only been a few days?" McGarrett supposed.

"For a little girl to move into a new home without her stuff is just _impossible_," Danny piped in. "I should know. Gracie raised hell on Rachel when she found out that _mommy dearest_ conveniently forgot to pack some of the toys I'd given to her as Christmas presents. Rachel crossed the line by involving Grace like that." He grunted, returning his head face down into the crook of his crossed arms on the table.

The strong smell of freshly brewed coffee had McGarrett withdrawing to the kitchen just as Kono rejoined them from her trip upstairs with Mindy.

"She's out like a light. She even took her medication before she went to bed but she still refuses to take any painkillers," Kono reported. "What did I miss?"

As Chin brought Kono up-to-date with whatever they'd discussed, McGarrett prepared four cups of coffee, glancing repeatedly at Williams whose outward appearance seemed to be deteriorating on par with how he felt. Somehow, Mindy's presence affected Danny negatively and it hadn't helped that his partner had consumed several glasses of wine in one sitting, equivalent to a full bottle. He'd only known Danny to drink beer whenever they hung out together after work, but based on the ridiculous quantities the blonde knocked back without even breaking a sweat, he presumed that Williams fared decently with hard liquor. Whenever he refilled Danny's glass with wine, he was simply being a good host, but he hadn't predicted that his partner would drink _every_ fucking drop!

"Hey, you're looking a bit green there, Danny," Kono observed when Williams' head surfaced for air from the folded sanctuary of his arms. _Oh, crap he's gonna hurl!_ Without hesitation, she bounded over to him quickly, yanking him off his chair.

Sure enough, Williams clamped a hand tightly over his mouth and McGarrett flew from the kitchen to escort them outside to the back garden where the blonde sank to his hands and knees, abruptly vomiting out the entire contents of his stomach. They winced sympathetically to Danny's every gurgling grunt and Kono hovered bravely near him, making sure his hair and his tie weren't in the line of fire.

When the heaving subsided, Kono carefully led Danny a few paces away to a pair of high-back wicker chairs brought out on the grass from a patio set on the back porch. Chin handed her a glass of water and a cold towel.

Shaking and bent over with his elbows on his knees, Danny weakly took the wet face cloth, wiping it over his nose, against his mouth, then flipping it around to remove the soil and bits of grass that clung to his fingertips. He accepted the glass of water from Kono with a mumbled apology, rinsed out his mouth several times which he spat on the grass between his legs. There was the sound of someone turning a squeaky faucet valve and when he slowly swiveled his head, spied McGarrett - his face mildly wrinkled in disgust - thoroughly hosing down his lawn.

_Mother-of-fuck, I'm never gonna live this down, _Danny lamented. Still hunched over, he groaned and closed his eyes, covering his face with his hands, his head slowly shaking from side to side. He felt a hand rubbing up and down his back in soothing circular motions.

"Feeling better, champ?" Kono asked gently, rubbing Danny's back more slowly and with a bit more pressure.

"Kono...I'm really, _really_ sorry you had to see that...whole thing," was his raspy reply, his voice heavily loaded with regret. "Can't believe I'm epically stupid enough to regress myself back to high school." _Thus, my glorious and longest no-puke streak comes to an abrupt and shameful end._

"Nah, don't sweat it. Back in the day, I've had my own fair share of binge-drinking catastrophes," Kono said cheerfully. "Besides, it takes way more than your chunky puke to totally gross me out." Then she leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, "although, yours is definitely the most _colorful_ I've ever seen."

Williams chuckled uncontrollably despite how ashamed he felt and it thoroughly fascinated him how Kono was just _way_ _too cool_ to be a girl.

"Congratulations, Danny-boy. You just did a gold medal Gary Johnston retch-a-rama," Chin said, grinning fiendishly, clamping his hands on Danny's shoulders and shaking him a little. They heard McGarrett's burst of exuberant laughter in the background. When Kono realized her cousin's reference she expressed her mock outrage by smacking him hard on the arm.

"No, no, please, _please_ don't do that," Danny pleaded, still feeling queasy and _any_ movement to his body _had_ to stop. Then Kelly's allegorical joke towards his plight hit him like an Acme anvil. "Aw, fucking hell, Chin, I wasn't even close to _that_," Danny objected, his face flushing. He blushed even further with renewed embarrassment knowing he inevitably had to deal with _McGarrett_. After all, it was his partner's lawn he'd sacrilegiously yacked on!

_Okay, let's get this over with._ Danny slowly sat up straight, took a deep breath and turned toward McGarrett who had finished washing away any visible signs of the half-digested remains of his dinner. "Hey, Steve. Listen, I'm very, _very_ sorry about...your lawn." It was a poor excuse for an apology, but it was the best his brain could muster up on short notice.

"My lawn will live, Danny. Just count yourself lucky that puke is biodegradable," McGarrett said, pointing at him in mock-warning. While he couldn't resist one last jibe, he _knew_ he was partly to blame for Williams involuntarily fertilizing his grass. "Let this be a lesson then. From now on, _Gary_, at my house, you're strictly on beer."

"Yes, dad," Danny acknowledged in defeat and hung his head. _And so, it begins_. There was nobody to blame but himself. It wasn't as if someone had twisted his arm and forced him to drink glass after glass of wine in rapid succession. Sighing, he reclined deeply into the old wicker patio chair he was sitting on, felt the densely woven network of thin wooden strands shift against his weight, the chair's backrest almost molding itself snugly around his shoulders.

"I'm gonna go have some coffee before it gets cold," Chin said. "You want your cup, cuz?"

"I think I'll switch to my Chamomile tea with Danny here," Kono instructed with a sweet smile. "With lemon and sugar, double-please, cuz?"

Lifting an eyebrow in response, Chin nodded and replied, "sure thing," and disappeared into the house.

"Y'know what? I'll think tea sounds better than coffee right now," McGarrett announced to nobody in particular, leaving Williams and Kalakaua alone in the back yard.

Danny sat with Kono beside him (who sat in an identical wicker chair) and closed his eyes as the warm, salty, evening breeze tickled his skin and for the first time since he came to live in Hawaii, the swirly, churning sounds of the ocean surf hitting the sandy shore were strangely relaxing.

"Need a ride home?" Kono offered softly, breaking their companionable silence.

"Thanks, but I'll be needing my car to pick up Grace tomorrow afternoon." He yawned and stretched his limbs. "Plus, I'm a complete train wreck right now, so I'm crashing here tonight," Danny said. He brushed disheveled strands of his hair from his eyes and loosened the knot of his tie. When his tie came undone, he pulled it from around his collar, rolled it up neatly with his hands and stuffed the wadded tie into his right front pant pocket. Squirming a little, he undid the top three buttons of his long-sleeved shirt (folded up to his elbows), and felt infinitely better.

"You can pretend that nothing's eating you up, Danny, but don't expect me to ignore it," Kono said softly.

_Nothing gets by you, does it?_ Williams smiled to himself.

"It's Mindy, isn't it?" Kono guessed correctly. She heard Danny's long, deliberate exhale. "You can't help but see Grace whenever you look at her, am I right?"

"How can I _not_ see that? Danny answered sadly, with underlying distress. "Mindy's own _father_ gave her a fucking butterfly knife! Am I gonna end up doing that to Grace in ten years? Will I turn into some paranoid, bitter old man who's so jaded and cynical from his job as a cop that I'll take it out on my own daughter?"

"Hey, we _both_ know that's never gonna happen," Kono reprimanded him sternly. "I see you with Grace and I think you're a wonderful father. Do you know that Grace lights up like sunshine whenever she sees you? Do you know you do the _same_?"

It was a serious topic they were discussing, Williams knew, but for some odd reason, the silliest image blipped into his head.

"Wait-a-minute...'I light up like _sunshine?'_ _Me_? I look like a Care Bear to you?'" Danny made a face at Kono and chuckled, receiving a hard smack on his arm in response.

"You know what I mean," Kono replied. She tried pouting her lips in disapproval but she was giggling too hard. Once she'd calmed down, she added again seriously, "Danny, you always do the best you can for Grace and you love your little girl too much to let _anything_ happen to her. If I don't doubt that then neither should you."

Williams smiled slightly, grateful that Kono had such faith in him.

"Beating myself up when it comes to Grace is a default mechanism. I know I shouldn't think that way, but sometimes I can't help it. Now, all I have to do is take one look at Mindy and I see the worst case scenario looking back at me," Danny answered, agitated. "One of these days, I might not be so lucky when some scum-bag gets a good shot in and I leave Grace growing up without her father. Mindy's dad was a cop and look where it got her: shipped off to live with her ex-military-turned-mercenary uncle who gets himself murdered and tortured in his own home - which she may or may not have seen - has herself attacked at knife-point and possibly traumatized for life by some psychopathic thug. The worst part is, she's now an orphan and stuck on an island with hundreds of strangers in the middle of the ocean!"

"There _is_ a bright side to your rant," Kono said, turning her head to the left and facing Danny beside her. "At least for a little while, Mindy's got the _four of us_ to take care of her instead of being passed around by social workers in an institution. She may be an orphan but she's not alone with a hundred strangers, even if she _is_ on an island in the middle of the ocean."

_How did she do that?_ Williams marveled, and before he could stop himself said out loud, "this is gonna sound incredibly corny, but...have I ever told you how amazing you are?" Danny stated, going for broke and gazing into Kono's sparkling eyes. _Sparkling_. Oh, yeah. He wasn't dreaming it either. Somehow, the stars in the night sky got themselves trapped inside Kono's beautifully dilated pupils by some enchanted magic. Also, it felt like he was grinning like a lovesick moron about to take his high school sweetheart to the prom. Outstanding! His night kept getting better and better. _Because nothing demonstrates the meaning of 'I love you' to a girl more than barf on a lawn_, he thought sardonically. "Never mind, Kono...forget I said anything."

"Chamomile tea with lemon and sugar, for two," Chin spoke, announcing his untimely arrival before Kono had a chance to react.

McGarrett was the first who appeared before them carrying a small, oval-shaped garden coffee table. He planted it firmly on the grass in front of where both Kono and Williams sat, followed by Chin who placed a large wooden tray on top of it filled with, what Danny thought, was a perfect replica of Her Majesty's full-blown flowery tea service complete with a tiered cake tray laden with artfully decorated cakes and cookies. All that was needed for a more authentic English package were a few freshly baked scones smothered in Devonshire cream and topped with homemade strawberry jam!

A lump suddenly formed in Danny's throat because it reminded him of how his ex-wife Rachel (having been born and raised in England) had felt it absolutely imperative for _him_ to learn the tradition of English Afternoon Tea. He grew to appreciate it more when they were married, especially on the weekends when they traveled together with Grace to different parks, setting up a thick blanket on the grass under the shade of a large tree. They sat as a family and enjoyed the afternoon together watching Grace play or read books or play board games. Part of him missed how good Rachel's cooking was...her stews, soups, her sugar cookies, those cute little pastries she made every Christmas...

"He's spacing out again," Chin said, glancing at Williams as he adjusted a wicker chair he placed beside Kono and sat down with a tired sigh. "Man, what a day."

"No kidding. I feel like I've been up another 48 hours," Kono said, taking a sip of her tea and biting down on a chocolate covered cocoa-filled cream puff. "Hey, these are really good. Where'd you find these? Wait. Don't tell me..."

"Liliha," McGarrett replied with a crafty grin.

"How'd you manage that? Those pastries are impossible to get," Chin said, his face clearly impressed.

"Pulled in a favor from a friend over at J.J.'s who knows the bakery owner personally. Figured, since I was indulging myself tonight, I might as well go all the way," McGarrett said with a grin, biting down generously into his own cream puff. He glanced over at Danny who was quietly sipping his tea. "I thought you didn't like tea."

"When did I say that?" Danny asked, his brows colliding in confusion.

"Well, you never said it exactly, but when we had that stakeout over on Kahala, you didn't seem too fond of it," McGarrett mentioned, already regretting bringing up the subject of Danny's ex-wife.

He was silent for a moment, but before McGarrett could apologize for his actions Danny answered softly, "drinking tea reminds me of Rachel...but it doesn't mean I hate it."

Danny resumed sipping the steaming Chamomile brew from his china cup which was decidedly a new experience for him since he'd never had this particular leaf or combination before. Rachel had always served Earl Grey mixed with milk and sugar, and interestingly enough, drinking the Chamomile in his cup hadn't directly reminded him of his ex-wife. Instead, the tea was distinctly and uniquely _Kono_.

The four of them sat in a kind of meditative silence, each of them deep in private thought about the events of the day or on personal worries, but it was Kono's long, tired yawn that made them realize how truly exhausted each of them were.

Rubbing her eyes did nothing to ease the feeling of her eyelids becoming heavier by the minute. The two cups of Chamomile tea she drank had taken the desired effect. "I'm gonna have to leave before I'm too tired to drive," Kono said, and noted that Chin had already stood up. "Thanks for dinner and dessert, boss. We should do this again when we're _not_ in the middle of a case."

"I hear you," McGarrett agreed with Kono wholeheartedly.

"Later, Chin. Bye, Kono. Have a safe drive home and...thank you," Danny said sincerely, forming the words 'thank you' with the exaggerated movement of his lips. He also winked playfully at her when Chin wasn't looking.

"No worries, I'll make sure she makes it home in one piece," Chin replied, and began walking toward the house with Kono beside him.

Williams watched until Kono disappeared into the house, then turned around with a sigh and poured himself another cup of tea, adding a few drops of lemon juice and sugar till it matched the first one he drank. He knew his body was close to shutting down but he wanted to prolong the taste of Chamomile on his tongue for a little while longer.

"Here. You should drink more water to re-hydrate your body after vomiting the way you did earlier," McGarrett instructed, holding out a bottle of water for his partner. He watched as Danny took the water without complaint and even obediently drank half the bottle's contents. "C'mon, I got an extra sleeping bag. We can bunk down in the living room."

"Lemme help you clean some of this stuff up."

"Nah, don't bother. I got this. I'm just gonna dump the tea tray in the kitchen and worry about it tomorrow."

Once inside the house, McGarrett threw two military sleeping bags downstairs, some extra pillows and a disposable guest toiletry kit he made up for anyone on his team that ended up staying overnight. After making sure Mindy was fast asleep, he freshened up in his bathroom en suite, wore a fresh pair of cotton pajama bottoms and padded downstairs to the living room where he met Danny (already stripped down to just his boxers) placing his neatly folded shirt and pants on the leather couch. There was a toothbrush dangling from his partner's mouth as Williams wandered off in a tired daze toward the guest bathroom to finish up. By the time Danny reemerged, Steve had armed the newly installed motion detectors that surrounded the perimeter of his home, placing the alarm module on the floor beside his bedroll next to his phone.

"All set?" McGarrett asked, finger poised on a light switch. A quick nod from Danny and the living room was instantly engulfed in pitch black.

There was the rustling of fabric as the two men settled down and got comfortable in their own sleeping bags.

"Need a wake-up call?" Steve asked his partner. "What time you picking up Grace?"

"...not till three in the afternoon," Danny mumbled back. "I'm sleeping in."

"Gotcha."

It didn't take long before McGarrett heard Williams' deep breathing, letting him know his partner had promptly fallen into an exhausted sleep.

McGarrett closed his eyes as his right hand briefly checked for the presence of his handgun under his pillow, and it wasn't long before he too had drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

to be continued

* * *

**Author's Note:**

From the J.J. Dolan's Wine and Menu List:

Red wine - Melville, Syrah 2006 - Santa Rita Hills, California

White wine - Stella, Pinot Grigio 2007 - Umbria, Italy

Chin - The Scampi Pie - bay shrimp, mushrooms, JJ's scampi sauce

Kono - Pizza Margherita - sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, fresh basil

The 'Gary Johnston' Chin's referring to is the main character from the hilarious Supermarionation movie, Team America: World Police. Anyone remember that epic barfing scene? LMAO. (among other things)

Thought I'd spend a day with the Five-0 team, dreaming up how they functioned in and out of work. I enjoy the team's camaraderie informal work environment, and I'm sad that jobs in the real world aren't even remotely close to theirs! *sigh*

Picture references for this story are available for viewing. Just go to my FFnet profile and click on the link that says 'DeviantArt Scrapbook.'

Well, what do you readers think so far? Please drop me a note and let me know. (+^_^+)


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